Top Philanthropy Reddit IAmA'shttp://www.topiama.com/cat/philanthropy
The latest Philanthropy IAmA's collected from RedditI’m a humanitarian officer for Save the Children working on the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone - AMA!http://www.topiama.com/r/3159/im-a-humanitarian-officer-for-save-the-children
Hi I'm Dan Stewart, a humanitarian officer working in Sierra Leone on Save the Children's Ebola emergency response. I can answer any questions on what it's really like on the ground in an Ebola-affected region. Ask me anything!

UPDATE - Thanks for all your questions so far. I'm away for next few hours, but I'll be back again today at 4pm (EST), 9pm (BST) to answer your questions.

]]>Wed, 15 Oct 2014 0:00:00 EDTWe work for local and international aid groups responding to Ebola in West Africa. We're operating clinics, delivering protective gear, running education campaigns and more. Ask us anything.http://www.topiama.com/r/3100/we-work-for-local-and-international-aid-groups
update 4:11pm: We're wrapping this up! Thank you so much, redditors, for all your thoughtful questions today! We hope we've provided some good answers over the last five hours or so. Some of us may pop in later on to respond to more questions.

If you'd like to make a donation to support the Ebola relief work of any of the organizations participating today, here are links to do that:

Your support is greatly appreciated. And once more for good measure: Unlike Ebola, zombies are not real.

Hi reddit, we’re a collection of staff from local and international aid organizations working to stop the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, which according to yesterday's WHO situation report has resulted in 7,157 people being infected with the virus and 3,330 deaths in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. We’re here to answer your questions starting at 11 AM ET.

Bisi Iderabdullah (/u/imanihouseinc), Imani House. Bisi's clinic in the Brewerville section of Monrovia, Liberia has been one of the only health care providers to 17,000 people in the area. After losing two of its staff to Ebola, Imani House is focusing its efforts on safeguarding staff and patients from the disease and educating the local community about how to stop transmission of the disease. Watch an interview with Bisi from last week.

Emily Bell (/u/morethanme1), More Than Me. Before the outbreak, Emily's organization ran an academy for vulnerable girls in Monrovia. Since Ebola's arrival, they've shifted their focus toward coordinating community efforts and are providing housing for children orphaned by the disease and supporting local care and education efforts. Their work was featured in a TIME story published yesterday.

Carolyn Yi and Mat Jacob (/u/Internews_MatCarolyn), Internews. Persistent misinformation and rumors about Ebola have been hampering efforts of aid organizations since the beginning of the outbreak, and Internews works to support local media outlets in West Africa, who can build trust and spread accurate information in ways international and government sources often can't. Their executive director wrote an oped this week in The Guardian about the value of local media in combating Ebola.

]]>Thu, 02 Oct 2014 0:00:00 EDTToday is International Right to Know Day. We are transparency activists from Canada, Colombia, Bulgaria, India and South Africa, here to talk about openness, secrecy and your right to know. Go on – Ask Us Anything!http://www.topiama.com/r/3086/today-is-international-right-to-know-day-we-are
We are:

• Centre for Law and Democracy (www.law-democracy.org), an NGO based in Canada that works globally to promote transparency, freedom of expression and digital rights. Over the past year, we have carried out work in Indonesia, Myanmar, Lebanon, Afghanistan and Morocco, among many other places.

• Open Democracy Advice Centre (www.opendemocracy.org.za), a South African specialist centre for access to information and whistleblowing, committed to seeing transparency in action.

• Shailesh Gandhi, formerly of India’s Central Information Commission and one of the world’s leading right to information activists.

• Dejusticia. a Colombian NGO that whose mandate is to strengthen and defend human rights.

• Access to Information Program (www.aip-bg.org/en/), a Bulgarian non-profit which has been working for nearly 20 years to improve access to information in Bulgaria and around the world.

September 28 is International Right to Know Day, and organisations around the world use the occasion to promote discussion and engagement on secrecy and open government. Today, 100 countries around the world have access to information laws in force, but in many places these are weak or poorly implemented.

We are passionate about government transparency, and eager to answer any questions you have about your right to know.

Edited 1: Because of the timezone issues, as well as conflicting Right to Know Day events that are taking place around the world, the different activists/organisations will be logging in and out. But there will be at least one person here answering for the entire day.

Edit 2: As of 12:15 - activists from all five countries are online. Great to see so many questions - I see you've pushed us onto the front page, we're angling for the top spot now! Proof is at: twitter.com/Law_Democracy/status/516196135732785152

Edit 3: Whelp, we've been at this for a solid eight hours, and I think it's time to call it a day. Thanks to everyone for participating - I think we all really enjoyed this experience, and I hope we've piqued your interest in the right to information. Please check out our website (www.law-democracy.org), as well as those of our partners above, and you can also find us on Twitter or on Facebook. Happy Right to Know Day Reddit - let's do this again next year.

]]>Sun, 28 Sep 2014 0:00:00 EDTI am Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe. I have helped thousands of young women victimized by the Lord's Resistance Army. AMA.http://www.topiama.com/r/3067/i-am-sister-rosemary-nyirumbe-i-have-helped
I am Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe, from the Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It was founded in South Sudan, and moved to Uganda after the civil war in South Sudan. From the time I joined, us Sisters had a passion to support the most vulnerable, especially children. I started helping those harmed by the Lord's Resistance Army back in 1987. I started at a small scale, and then started to support a larger group of women who were abducted and then managed to escape and come back. Currently, every year we take in around 250 women with their children, and also we do not only limit our support to women who were taken by rebels but also girls in Northern Uganda who have lost their education due to the war, and we have also extended our program to support women with HIV/Aids so they can have skill training and get support from their own friends and be able to support one another. We give them so many types of education - we are going to teach sustainable agriculture, which helps support women in the community as well.

I was appointed a CNN Hero and the 2014 TIME 100 Honoree, and am the subject of the film Sewing Hope. The film is opening in New York this Thursday.

EDIT: Well, you can find me on Twitter @Sister_Rosemary. I must go to my screening, but I am very grateful for this opportunity to speak to the public and learn also some new things. And I am really very much fascinated about the difference of culture and opinion, especially as HIV/AIDs and condoms are concerned. There is a lot of diverse thoughts about this, and you can see, I don't go very far away, I always narrow down all my answers to education.

Thank you!

]]>Tue, 23 Sep 2014 0:00:00 EDTI work for Doctors Without Borders - ask me anything about Ebola.http://www.topiama.com/r/3025/i-work-for-doctors-without-borders-ask-me
This thread is now closed. Thank you all for your questions and interest.

Here are a couple of links that may answer some of the questions I didn't get to:

Some background: Since the Ebola outbreak began in March in Guinea, it has claimed more than 1,800 lives. The outbreak has spread far beyond Guinea, and is now raging unabated. A total of four countries are now affected: Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone.

The World Health Organization has declared the largest-recorded Ebola epidemic an “international public health emergency,” yet the international effort to stem the outbreak is dangerously inadequate. MSF teams on the ground are seeing critical gaps in all aspects of the response: medical care, training of health staff, infection control, contact tracing, epidemiological surveillance, alert and referral systems, community education, and mobilization. All countries require an immediate and massive mobilization of resources.

]]>Fri, 12 Sep 2014 0:00:00 EDTWe are a group of Jordanians helping kids and Syrian refugees in Jordan receive proper education. Ask Us Anything.http://www.topiama.com/r/3017/we-are-a-group-of-jordanians-helping-kids-and
Hi, we are Farah, Hamza, and Shorouq, and in 2011 we started the Scientific Culture Society which provides educational programs to public schools and underprivileged communities. Through our Fun Science Program we've worked with 300 Syrian refugee youth and over 500 public school students so far. Next we're taking this a step further and are about to launch the Science League.

The Science League is a program modeled after the boy scouts, where kids will be required to do science projects in order to earn badges. Through this we give these kids the freedom to explore themselves and work on their projects with their own hands, something not available for kids in Jordan, especially Syrian refugees.

We have already worked with Jordanian kids in the worst schools you could imagine! One time, a school principal refused to open up the school on a Saturday for us to give the kids a workshop, and asked for a bribe! Yes, sometimes, it does get that bad, but we manage.

Similar programs might be available to kids in rich countries, but not in Jordan, and the crises that neighboring countries are going through are not making things any easier.

We have a campaign page on indiegogo for The Science League but regardless we will still continue in our work with children in Jordan. Ask Us Anything!

]]>Wed, 10 Sep 2014 0:00:00 EDTWe are two goobers that decided to get on our bicycle and ride coast to coast across America this summer. How about you shift into second gear this morning and Ask Us Anything!http://www.topiama.com/r/2926/we-are-two-goobers-that-decided-to-get-on-our
**Hey there! Our names are Connor O'Brien and Athena Jones. This summer we rode our bicycles from Virginia Beach, Virginia to Cannon Beach, Oregon. We went with an affordable housing organization called Bike and Build which sends groups of roughly 30 riders on 8 different cross American bike trips each year to raise money and awareness about the affordable housing problem in America. We were on the central route with 31 other riders. Along the way we had some pretty great times that we would like to share with you all. Here is our route http://bikeandbuild.org/rider/route.php?route=CUS&year=2014

(sidenote, we do not formally represent Bike and Build, this is just us sharing our experiences) **

**Proof: (Connor)I took at least one panorama photo a day while on the trip. This is the first part of my daily panorama album, I'll release the whole thing in a separate post/when it all eventually uploads.

Edit: Please feel free to check out Bike&Build.org It really is a good cause and a great program that I cannot recommend enough. No one has asked this yet, but I was not a cyclist before the trip, I barely knew how to use clip in pedals. If I can do it, you can too!

Edit #2: Thanks everyone!

]]>Fri, 15 Aug 2014 0:00:00 EDTWe are back - We are a Ukraine Orphanage from Slavyansk. Our 116+ children's home is destroyed in war, and we need your help AMA!http://www.topiama.com/r/2863/we-are-back-we-are-a-ukraine-orphanage-from
We promised to be back within 48 hours with more details about ourselves.

Our 116 children need your help to get education and live properly - our orphanage was destroyed!

Our story Our lovely orphanage was completely destroyed during this conflict here in Slavyansk, Ukraine.

Please ask us about situation in our country, about our views. And please support us by contributing to Indigogo project. Your small contribution can help change the life of 116 kids.

Proof: Previously, we received lots of warm messages and help, but also skepticism since we were somewhat unprepared without many photos with us. We promised to return within 48 hours - and have posted an album with whatever was asked from us, photos with children, photos holding Reddit sign, documents, support letter, budget etc.

Additional: We received lots of requests for information on adopting orphans in Ukraine. This is a complex question, since it depends on a lot of factors (age/gender of child and your situation etc.) and hence we decided to talk individually.

We have received lots of comments, messages, and queries (particularly about adopting children and help through clothes etc.) We are sitting whole night (it's 03:20 AM right now) and answering to each one of them.

We have unfortunately less time, and we request your help. Spread the word and please contribute in any way you can.

]]>Thu, 31 Jul 2014 0:00:00 EDTI am Kartick Satyanarayan, co-founder of Wildlife SOS in India. My team and I recently rescued Raju the elephant, who had endured 50 years of cruelty. "The elephant who cried" is now safe in our care. Ask me anything.http://www.topiama.com/r/2817/i-am-kartick-satyanarayan-cofounder-of-wildlife
Hello, reddit. We at Wildlife SOS were INCREDIBLY inspired to see your community's response to our work, in particular the saving of Raju the Elephant. I co-founded Wildlife SOS in 1995 to help drive lasting change to protect and conserve India's natural heritage, forests and wildlife wealth. We have helped save the last of the dancing bears in India, for example, in addition to our work with elephants like Raju. You can learn more about our work on our official site here. I am looking forward to taking your questions, so AMA."

Thank you all so much for taking the time to come ask me questions and learn about what Wildlife SOS does to protect animals in India. Your support is deeply appreciated. On behalf of Raju and all the animals we protect, we thank you. For further information please feel free to send an email on info@wildlifesos.org

]]>Sat, 19 Jul 2014 0:00:00 EDTI'm a former special operations sniper who uses my expertise in Africa to protect elephant and rhino from poachers. My name is Damien Mander, AMA.ank) AMA!http://www.topiama.com/r/2711/im-a-former-special-operations-sniper-who-uses-my
Last week an old buddy posted a photo album (http://imgur.com/a/20wzq) on reddit about my organization, the International Anti-Poaching Foundation (IAPF), and an AMA was requested- so I'm here to take your questions.

My journey: I was a naval special operations sniper in the Australian Defense Force. In 2008 I completed my 12th tour of duty in Iraq as a so-called mercenary, and I felt that there had to be more to life than living out a game of Halo. After traveling around the world, I ended up in Africa. A trip to the bush left me face-to-face with the horrors the world’s wildlife is facing from poaching. I gave up everything my previous life had provided for me and started the IAPF.

IAPF’s mission is conservation through direct action. We aim to stop the hemorrhaging at the front lines of the world wildlife war. We do this by adopting a structured, military–like approach to conservation. This includes using correct levels of force to capture hardened poachers.

Since taking over security operations in Victoria Falls, not one rhino has been poached and the population of critically endangered black rhino has increased by 133% since 2010.

We now run operations covering more than 1 million acres and have supported 28 other initiatives. With your support, we can shift it up a few gears.

I have gotten a private donor to match donations made over the next few days so that up to a total of $10k will be matched. This will help us support rangers at ground level along the South Africa/ Mozambique border who are fighting to protect the world’s largest remaining rhino population. AND You asked for us to accept bitcoin reddit, so we listened.

Everybody, it has really been a pleasure talking to you all. After 6 hours, I need to get some sleep, as I'm heading off in the morning. I will update you on the amount of funding you have all helped raise through this AmA - then we can go and spend it together fighting rhino poaching.

Since the beginning of the current round of violence, UNICEF has worked tirelessly to provide life-saving humanitarian aid to children and their families displaced from Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city.

I’m looking forward to taking your questions- it’s my first time on Reddit.

]]>Tue, 17 Jun 2014 0:00:00 EDTIamA Peace Corps Volunteer in Nicaragua...and I'm struggling. AMA!http://www.topiama.com/r/2661/iama-peace-corps-volunteer-in-nicaraguaand-im
I'm a PCV in the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. I live in a rural area and I primarily work with the schools. I have been in country for nearly 11 months. I live with a host family, take bucket baths, eat rice and beans, the whole nine-yards. I have been really homesick recently and sometimes wonder what the hell I'm doing here. AMA.

(Anything I write on this thread is of my own personal opinion and not the opinion of Peace Corps or my host country government)

Edit: Whoa, didn't realize this was going to be so popular. I'll try to answer all the questions I can.

Edit: I am shocked at how many people have reached out to me on this thread. I really do appreciate it, especially all those from the PC community. It was really powerful to see that kind of support. I think I should make some things clear though. I had a couple motivations for posting. The first was to help reaffirm my purpose as a PCV. I know that the more I talk about PC and my experiences, the better I feel about what I'm doing here. I have been in a rough patch, which is normal, and the reactions to this post has catapulted me out of it. So thank you for that! But the other motivation was to talk about a genuine experience Peace Corps volunteers can have. Am I struggling? Yes, I think everyone in Peace Corps struggles in some way. That's what makes this job so challenging, and so worth it. My original post makes it sound like I was complaining about the bucket shower, rice and beans, and living with a host family. In sincerity, all of those details were mentioned for context. Do I hate taking bucket baths and eating rice and beans? Absolutely not. I crave gallo pinto after a long morning of teaching and cold bucket-baths are life savers in the heat. Thank you all for your interest. I have a renewed outlook on my life here, and I will come back to this post often to remind me of how lucky I am to have this opportunity. Que le vaya bien.

]]>Mon, 09 Jun 2014 0:00:00 EDTIamA child in a rural region of a developing country, answering questions via text messaging.http://www.topiama.com/r/2591/iama-child-in-a-rural-region-of-a-developing
I'm currently in Indonesia in the West-Java province visiting remote and rural regions where child mortality rates are high. Internet is spotty and Reddit is blocked by the ISP's on the connections available to us but since Reddit loved the AMA we set up via satellite almost two years ago from the Mali desert (http://bit.ly/1j7qndj), we thought we'd try to do one here as well. Questions will be texted to us by a friend and we'll text the answers back to post them.

I'm here visiting Save the Children's programs together with Athene since we are independent fundraisers and wanted to document where the money goes.

UPDATE

Thanks so much for all the questions, everyone! Sofie loved it, even though it was difficult for her to imagine that these questions came from people from all over the world, who are interested in her way of life.

]]>Thu, 22 May 2014 0:00:00 EDTHello Reddit – I’m Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Microsoft founder. Ask me anything.http://www.topiama.com/r/2212/hello-reddit-im-bill-gates-cochair-of-the-bill
I had a lot of fun doing last year’s AMA and am excited to come back for another round of questions about everything from philanthropy to technology to how to lose a chess match in less than 90 seconds (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84NwnSltHFo). (Step 1: Play the world champion. There is no step 2.)

]]>Mon, 10 Feb 2014 0:00:00 EDTI am Ted Chaiban, Director of Emergency Programmes at UNICEF. Here to answer your questions about our relief efforts for those affected by Super Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.http://www.topiama.com/r/1912/i-am-ted-chaiban-director-of-emergency-programmes
I oversee all of the organization's (the United Nations Children's Fund) work protecting children in emergency situations.